Family safety is a key issue. Find out how to search for missing people

When to ask the police for help and what steps to take?

The number of people recognised as missing is growing every year. Have your family safety guaranteed.

What occurrence can be named „missing“?

According to the main document regulating the question of search for missing people, „missing means that a natural person is nowhere to find, and he or she is to be found, freed, helped and protected“.

Any situation where:
a person cannot be contacted, he or she did not return to their places of residence, there is no information about their current staying or it is a justified suspicion about their poor state of health, may be recognised as missing. Any situation similar to those mentioned above should not be belittled. A quick reaction increases the chance of finding the missing person.

When missing should be reported?

The only answer to this question is at once.

When we start worrying about a loved one, with no doubt, we should report their missing to the nearest police station. It is expected to present a photo of the person as well as all kind of information which could contribute to finding the missing (state of health, dress on the day of disappearance, general mental condition).

What questions can the reporting person be asked when he or she reports the missing?

Any question that can lead to finding the missing so it is worth of recalling any details connected to the case and the date when the lost person was last seen or contacted.
The police officer can also ask about blood group of the lost person, objects that the missing can have by themselves, their routines, addictions, places where he or she can stay.

Information about social media used by the missing, previous cases of their leaving habitual residence and steps took then by the family members (hiring a private detective or turning to NGO-non-governmental organisation) may, for sure, turn out to be essential.

When asked these questions, we should be precise and thorough. Everything we know about the person can become key information and can contribute to quick finding.

Do not act on your own

After having been given notice, the police are obliged to immediate action to determine the location of the person. You should relay on their help. The information is with no delay registered in the national police information system, so becomes accessible to all police officers. Next actions depend on the missing category.

“Man – Woman Wanted”. How the police work?

Activities performed by officers include, among others, places of residence verification (e.g. hospitals, night or sobering shelters), protection of personal items, from which you can extract the genetic profile (e.g. a comb, toothbrush), securing medical records and treatment history, analysis of monitoring in the area of disappearing and places where the missing was seen, together with phisical search, in cooperation with other departments.

Search and Persons Identification Department coordinates actions of taking and recording DNA samples of the missing. The possibility to compare a missing person biological profile with unidentified dead bodies may help confirm or preclude outrageous scenarios of occurrence.

What else can be done?

It happens that the police lose their powers and operation intensity when looking for missing people, especially in long term unsolved cases. To maximise all actions taken, it is worth using then a private detective.
There are non-governmental organisations (NGO) where you can report the missing person in order to receive legal and psychological assistance. They supervise the actions performed by the police and they inform public opinion about reported cases. There is one condition, though and this is giving notice to the police first.

All actions that we undertake should be thoroughly thought and well organised. Strong emotions cannot dominate the steps that we take. Chaos and lack of consistency may influence our movements in a very negative way.

What can we do to protect ourselves and the loved ones?

Disappearance is an extremely traumatic experience. Unfortunately, it cannot be totally avoided.

However, it is possible to reduce the risk of danger by applying some technological inventions. Why not to use GPS trackers which track the location of a person. It seems to be crucial protecting this way our children, but particularly our elderly relatives who, with years have memory problems. Senile dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases make may them leave home and then they are unable to go back.

The tracker available on the market allow an absolutely non-invasive use, e.g. placing them in a watch.

Be present in your family members and friends` lives.

Searching for missing people is a difficult job, requiring large expenditures of time and patience. Protect yourself from anxiety and concern for the fate of the next, maintaining a sincere relationship based on understanding, acceptance and support. This way you will be able to see worrying signs of a planned escape from the problems, signs of depression and mental breakdown. You will be also capable for noticing the changes that have occurred in the lives of your loved ones and when they entangle in criminal or other risky activities threatening their lives or health. To prevent your family members from being missing you can use a Special GPS watch.

The family and loved ones should be holders of the most important information about the missing person. The use of this knowledge by the police and other bodies undoubtedly increases the chances of a happy ending.